


Apple Of My Eye

by a_star_trekked_sherlockian



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Avengers taking care of young children, Gen, OC, young children
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-12
Updated: 2014-02-07
Packaged: 2018-01-01 08:19:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1042518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_star_trekked_sherlockian/pseuds/a_star_trekked_sherlockian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Looking after kids was the last thing that the Avengers had expected to have to do. However, when Thor finds two young children hiding behind a dumpster in an alleyway he brings them back to the Stark Tower. Will the rest of the Avengers allow them to stay, and if they do, can they keep them out of danger?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I've been sitting on this idea for a little while now. I hope you enjoy it and leave plenty of reviews and things because they make me happy.

Stark Tower was busy, noisy and full. Luckily that was just how Thor liked it. Having all the people that he could constantly joke and laugh with made him feel at home. Every day at the Stark Tower was like a night of feasting in Asgard. He found this to be particularly enjoyable. Of course he would, it was food. Thor thought about Midgard food all the time while he was in Asgard. His home food was more elaborate than the stuff he enjoyed back at the tower but there was something about the simple tastiness that Thor enjoyed. Maybe it was because it barely took any preparation (not that he was the one preparing it in Asgard at all. One of the perks of being royal). Maybe it was because it was new and a novelty thing for Thor at this time. Whatever it was there was something that made Midgard nutrients more desirable than those he received in Asgard.

That wasn't to say that food was his one and only reason for staying at Stark Tower. He had already mentioned the people. It was just that the food was definitely a large factor in the matter. He thought about this as he took the Rainbow bridge back to Midgard.

With a loud clap of thunder he landed on the pavement outside the tower. He frowned, looking up at the Earth's sky that was cloudy and dull. At that moment the heavens opened, pouring buckets of water across Thor's unsuspecting face. Well, he definitely didn't come back to Midgard for the weather. He crinkled his features against the impact of the many raindrops and turned to head inside quickly. However he stopped.

His ears strained quickly as he swore he heard a sound. It was a squeal of sorts; high-pitched and scared. Thor looked around the area, seeing if he could source the noise but nothing stood out from the city's wall of sound as wrong or different. He went to turn back towards the complex when he heard it again. This time it was accompanied by a hush from something else.

"Is somebody there?" Thor called out, his voice booming across the street. A small gasp was heard and that settled any doubt in Thor's mind that somebody definitely was there. "I'm not going to hurt you." He said in the most reassuring voice he could muster. The disembodied sound had turned into repetitive sniffles with a few occasional shrieks added in for good measure. It was not hard to follow the noise but the place where it appeared to be coming from was strange.

Thor was now heading down a dark alleyway, the rain was still coming down in torrents and he was now soaked to the bone. Mjolnir was threatening to slip from his hands as water collected underneath his grasp. He held it tighter and continued all the way down to the end of the strange lane. The sniffs had stopped but the shrieks hadn't. They kept coming just as loud and getting quicker by the second. Eventually it turned into a long, never-ending wail.

"Who's making that noise?" Thor asked to the darkness. He didn't expect a reply. In fact he had only expected the noise to vanish altogether now that he was this close. Instead he heard a whisper.

"Ollie.. Shush. Please!" He heard. The voice was little, tiny in fact and it sounded fragile. It was the voice of a girl he was sure. She sounded to be pleading with somebody and was in obvious distress. The wails were still coming but Thor didn't think they were coming from her. Somebody else must have been there.

"No!" Came a moody voice in between his crying This voice, Thor decided, was a young male. Very young in fact if the lack of sentence structure was going to go by. The boy was louder though and apparently had no knowledge that they were supposed to be hiding. Thor traced it quickly. The noises came from behind a large dumpster. Thor pushed it aside with ease. What he found was a little surprising.

A young girl with long brown hair that looked tangled and knotty was crouched, clutching hold of a toddler boy around his waist. Thor's eyes widened as he took in the little boy and short, dirty blonde hair and the streaks of dirt across his cheeks. The girl was also dirty but it covered her arms as well as he face. They appeared to be dry; the bin obviously acting as a shelter for them. The boy's eyes were red as if he was crying. It was then that Thor realised that his clap of thunder must have frightened the poor boy. He immediately felt terrible.

"I am sorry! I did not mean to frighten you both!" He cried out, kneeling in front of the two children quickly. The young girl stared up at him silently but the boy giggled and made grabby hands towards Mjölnir. He must have thought it was a toy. Thor looked down at the now giggling boy. His sobs had stopped suddenly and he seemed infinitely happier.

Thor couldn't work out how old the young girl was but he guessed that she was somewhere between 5 and 8. She held the boy tightly as she peered up at the large bulk of a man in front of her. Thor had to have been bigger than any average person she'd ever seen in her life because Thor was exactly that, bigger than an average person.

"My name is Thor, young Midgardian. What is yours?" Thor said, ignoring the fact that the girl didn't actually know what a Midgardian was, let alone the fact she was one herself. The girl bit her lip before answering.

"Mummy told me never to talk to strangers." She answered like a parrot and Thor smiled.

"What about strangers that are trying to help?" He asked.

"Well..." She lengthened her word more than it should have been as she thought. "I suppose that's okay." She nodded.

"So, what is your name?" Thor asked again.

"My name is Ella. And this is Ollie." She said, referring to the young boy in her grasp. Holding onto him was all she could do to stop the boy running towards Thor and his hammer to play. Thor nodded. The rain had cleared up while they had been talking but once again the clouds let down its rain, now drenching the three of them. Without the dumpster bin to shelter them the children were getting cold and wet.

Ollie's nose crinkled up and he let out a few struggled breaths as though about to cry. It was then that he wailed at the top is the lungs. The little girl cringed at the noise and started up her act of trying to calm him again. It was clear that the boy wasn't happy in the rain. He could only have been 2 years old at a push. The two children didn't have coats on them. This was strange, it was the middle of November. The weather had got progressively colder for a few weeks now.

"Come with me. I will get you to some place dry." Thor spoke loudly again. His voice carrying back down the alleyway and reaching people who were walking past the entrance. They turned to stare at the man dressed in odd clothes. He lifted the crying boy into one arm and held out his free hand to take Ella's. However the girl simply stayed crouch.

"I'm not supposed to go with strangers. Mummy said not to." She said, once again sounding like a parrot repeating a phrase it had heard too many times. Thor began to wonder exactly where this "Mummy" was. There had been no sign of a woman looking for her children and she let them outside without a coat at this time of year. Compared to the mothers in Asgard the ones are Earth appeared to be very careless. To an Asgardian mother, her children were her pride and joy. There was nothing that she would love more. This had been evident throughout the whole of Thor's childhood. Even whether a child had not been theirs they would swear to take good care of it. His own mother had taken Loki under her wing had she not?

"Where is your mother, Ella?" Thor asked slowly.

"I..." She frowned for a moment. "I don't know."

"Then come with me. I can find you food. Do you like poptarts? I didn't know what they were until recently and now they're my favourite food. And you will be warm."

Ella appeared to be a very trusting girl as she thought over the offer for a moment before agreeing happily. Thor couldn't quite decide if that was a good thing or not. It was good in the sense that it allowed him to take her somewhere safe but on the other hand if another person with not so valiant intentions had won her trust, what could have happened?

He took her hand and led her out of the alleyway. In one arm he carried Ollie and held Mjölnir in a precarious position at his fingertips. His other hand was keeping Ella close by him; his giant palms swallowing up her whole fist.

"Where are we going?" She asked quietly as they reached the end of the alley and Thor looked to cross the road. The little boy was silent in Thor's arms, in fact Thor thought he may have fallen asleep.

_That was surprisingly easy._

"Do you know of Stark Tower?"

"Yes! I walk past it to get to school. It's very big." Remarked the girl, her eyes lighting up.

"That's where we're going."

"Really?"

"Yes." Thor said in a confused tone. Didn't the girl believe him at first? He didn't quite understand the child's mind. He finally deemed it safe to cross the road (he was being extra careful now that he was responsible for two other lives) and entered the pass code on the gate. They opened automatically, granting the trio entrance to the building in a rather grand fashion. Ella let out a small gasp as she looked up at the towering complex, her mouth dropping open into a perfect 'O' shape.

They walked up to the front doors in silence. Ella still taking in everything and Ollie, who Thor had definitely decided was asleep, began to drool across Thor's armour. He let go of Ella's hand for just a moment to push the door open before taking a firm grip of her fragile limb once more and entering.

"I have arrived!" He called out down the hallway, "And I have visitors!"


	2. Chapter 2

"So, they were just sat there? Behind the bins? In the rain?" Queried Steve. He was leaning forward on the edge of the sofa, his hands interlocked with each other between his legs as he looked at Thor.

"Yes," Thor nodded, "Why? Do you not believe me?" Steve shook his head quickly.

"No, no. I was just checking I had all the facts right." He sighed gently, his gaze dropping to the ground as he shook his head.

The children in question were sleeping on Bruce's bed at the moment. He had been kind enough to give it up for the two of them without any hassle. Ollie had only woken once on the way up there when he had been transferred from Thor's arms to Pepper's. He'd let out a small wail until Pepper held him close to her at which point the young boy had settled down and fallen asleep again. Ella had gone to sleep rather quickly herself. Thor had deduced that she probably hadn't slept probably since she'd been out on the streets, what with a 2 year old to look after.

The only people that had seen the little ones so far were Thor and Pepper. Miss Potts had insisted that two got well rested before they met the others. They weren't exactly calming people and she was sure they would only get them riled up and excited.

"Where are their parents?" Asked Natasha.

Thor simply shrugged unknowingly as he reached for the box of opened pop tarts that was laid on the coffee table. He looked around the living room and smiled broadly at his friends only to realise that no one was actually looking at him. Most of their gazes were averted to the ground and their mouths were all contorted into frowns. Thor frowned himself and released a sigh, shoving a pop tart into his mouth hungrily.

After a moment of silent the sound of little feet approached the door.

"Sir, there's someone outside the room." Reported JARVIS as the door was pushed slightly. A small hand appeared.

"Thor..?" Came a voice.

"In here." Replied Thor softly as turned to face the entrance. Ella peeked her head through quickly, her brown hair falling across her dirty features. She blinked as she caught sight of the vast amount of people in the room and let out a surprised "ooh".

Ella raised her small hand in greeting before walking over to Tony. She stopped directly in front of him and smiled widely with the muck still smeared across her cheeks.

"Your house is very nice." She said.

"And you're a very polite girl." Replied Tony with a smile, "But how do you know this is my house?" He asked. He was no stranger to people knowing he was but these people were usually adults. Small children usually only recognised him as "Iron Man".

"Because you're Tony Stark. Mummy walked us past here every day to get to school and every time we went she would say 'This is Iron Man's house and one day he, and the rest of the Avengers, might just save your life. Always remember that.' and so I did." She answered, quoting her Mother with a small finger waggle. Tony's eyes widened slightly and turned to look at the rest of the group. They look just as shocked as he did. Of course they weren't exactly strangers to people telling their children that they were going to look out for them if they ever got in trouble. However coming from this child it sounded sincere and the fact that she had been told every day was heart warming.

Ella giggled and ran back over to Thor. She tried to climb onto his lap and once he noticed she was struggling he gently picked up and placed her upon his knee.

"So what's your name?" Asked Bruce who was sat on the sofa next to Tony.

"My name is Ella." She smiled, leaning back into Thor.

"That's a pretty name, Ella. My name is Bruce."

"I know who you are! You're the Hulk! You smash things. I like that. You go RAAARGGGGH!"

The whole group laughed and Bruce managed a chuckle to as Tony nudged him in the side with a reassuring smile.

"I know who all of you are." She jumped down from Thor's lap and walked into the middle of room. "Iron Man! You fly and your suit is really cool. The Hulk! you get all green. Hawkeye! You shoot arrows. Mummy was going to let me take classes because I want to be as good as you. Black Widow! You are super cool! I was going to learn martial arts too. Captain America! You were frozen and you have a strong shield. And Thor! You're not from around here, but you have a really strong hammer."

"Who taught you all of that, Ella?" Asked Clint, a little dumbfounded.

"Mummy did. She told me it was important to know." She answered now trying to get back onto Thor's lap.

"Do you know our real names?" Asked Steve. The girl nodded.

"Tony, Bruce, Clint, Natasha, Steve and.. and.. well your just Thor right?"

The 6 of them were stunned into silence. They looked the small girl up and down as she fidgeted a little on Thor's knee her attention diverted from the superheroes in front of her and to the dirt across her face. She rubbed at it uncomfortably.

"Not many people know our real names, Ella. Did your Mummy tell you that as well?" Said Steve quietly.

"Yu-huh!" She replied shortly as she continued to rub at her face. Thor licked his thumb and gently rubbed off the dried on piece of mud that the girl had been struggling with.

At that moment Pepper Potts strode into the room. She caught sight of the small girl sitting on Thor's knee and smiled softly to herself. She coughed lightly to draw attention to herself and Ella turned around. She grinned happily and jumped off Thor's knee.

"Pepper!" She giggled as she ran. She wrapped her arms around Pepper's legs and smiled.

"Good evening, Ella. Did you sleep well?" Pepper asked with the tilt of her head. She crouched to the girls height quickly.

"Yes, thank you for the bedtime story." She smiled as she could finally look Pepper in the eye. She hugged her once more and this time Pepper hugged back. "Is Ollie awake?"

"Not yet. I'm sure he will be soon though."

"Then he can meet everybody right? They're very nice." Ella said loudly before whispering in Pepper's ear, "But they ask a lot of questions."

"They do don't they." Pepper chuckled looking up at the group quickly, "But I think you need a bath to get that dirt off." She smiled. Steve got up from his chair and walked over to the pair.

"I'll take her." He offered, reaching out his hand for her to take. Ella took it with a smile and nodded. She looked up at the soldier.

"Um.. can I see your shield afterwards?" She asked, seeming shy for the first time since arriving in the tower. Steve smiled warmly.

"Of course you can."

"Here, I'll help." Spoke up Tony as he got up from his chair, leaving Bruce behind. As he approached Ella held out her free hand for Tony to hold. He faltered before taking it. Finally he enclosed her hand within his and the trio left the room. Pepper followed them out with a smile.

"While you're doing that I'll go and get them some supplies. They didn't come with anything so they'll be needing pajamas, nappies, bottles..." Pepper listed as she disappeared out of ear shot to get her coat. Tony watched her leave over his shoulder. She was so organised! If she hadn't have been here then the group would have freaked out. They wouldn't have thought to buy clothes and nappies and everything that little kids needed.

Suddenly Natasha poked her head out of the door.

"Hey, Pepper! Do you want me to come with you?" She shouted down the corridor, not knowing where Pepper had gone. "You're gonna have a lot to carry!"

"Thanks Natasha!" Pepper shouted back, "That would be helpful!"

Pepper reappeared from down the corridor in a coat and scarf, holding out Natasha's winter overcoat as well. Natasha took it gratefully, shrugging it on and opening the door for the two of them.

"See you later, Pepper." Called Tony as he, Ella and Steve stepped into lift. As the lift doors shut Steve and Tony pulled Ella off the ground swinging her like a monkey which caused her to erupt into giggles, refusing to put her feet back on the ground. She dangled happily until the lift open up on one of the higher floors. Ella dropped to the ground and walked out, letting go of her carer's hands and skipping ahead a little.

She peered about in awe at the lengthy corridor, she'd been down here twice already because the room she'd slept in had been down there but once she was only half awake and the second time she was still half asleep. The only reason she'd managed to find Thor was because a strange disembodied voice that had introduced himself as JARVIS had guided her towards the elevator. Now she was full of energy and wanted to explore. Her gasping at various items that littered the halls made Tony smile.

"Is this all yours?" Ella asked, turning to Tony and walking backwards.

"Yep, well 88%." He smiled to himself but Ella frowned in confusion. She dismissed it quickly however and spun herself the right way round and continued her skipping. "The door right at the end a bathroom." He added.

Ella approached it and turned the handle, standing on her tiptoes to peer in. She gasped loudly and flung the door open properly.

"Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!" She squealed running around with her arms outstretched. "It's so big! It's bigger than my bedroom at home!"

Steve and Tony laughed before Steve caught one of her arms and scooped her up.

"That may be said but you do actually have to take bath in here so come on. Arms up." Steve transferred her into one arm and removed her T-shirt with the other, tickling her stomach when he was done so she squealed happily. Tony set about filling the bath so it wasn't to hot and waiting for Ella to be ready.

Finally Ella climbed in, giggling and poking bubbles. The girl was absolutely filthy even under her clothes. Gently the two males wiped all the mud from face and then from arms and chest. By the time they'd started on her legs and feet the water was beginning to look a murky brown colour.

Steve frowned at Tony who was sharing the same look. It wasn't right for the girl to be so dirty. Luckily she didn't seem hungry or thirsty so she must have been able to find food. But she was still on her own, looking after her little brother and trying to find shelter for the two of them.

"Steve?" Started, Ella.

"Yes?"

"Will you tell me a story?" She asked as she blew bubbles towards the wall.

"A story?" Queried Steve looking over to Tony who had suddenly started to smirk as he leaned against the towel rail.

"Yes, Capsicle! Tell us a story." Tony grinned, folding his arms.

"Right well, okay." Steve began looking at the girls expectant face. "Alright, Once upon a time there lived a crocodile in a river next to a big green forest. One day Mr Squirrel came up to Mr Crocodile and asked him for help. Can you help me, Mr Crocodile? I hid my nuts here last winter and now I can't seem to find them! He asked. Mr Crocodile thought about this for a little while. What's in it for me? He asked selfishly. I will give you half of my nuts replied Mr Squirrel. But I don't eat nuts said Mr Crocodile. I can't do anything else Mr Squirrel said with a sigh. He began to walk away from the river but Mr Crocodile stopped him. It doesn't matter. I'll still help you find your food he said. Mr Squirrel was so happy that he jumped onto Mr Crocodile's back and the two of them swam around the river. Finally the found Mr Squirrel's nuts and they all lived happily ever after."

When Steve had finished she turned to look at Tony was nodding in approval.

"Not bad, I think I could have done better though."

"Why don't you tell a story too!" Grinned Ella, "Although I really liked yours, Steve." She said quickly with a nod.

"Maybe next time, kiddo." He winked, ruffling her wet hair.

They hadn't realised how long it had taken to finally clean the girl but a knock came at the door. Pepper walked in, carrying Ollie in her arms and armed with pajamas and clean nappies for the little boy.

"Knock, knock." She called, smiling down as Steve wrapped Ella up in a towel and lifted her from the large bath. Tony pulled the plug out and watched the filthy water drain away. He proceeded to fill it again once it had emptied, assuming that Ollie would also be taking a bath that night. Steve swapped Ella for Ollie who was already undressed, courtesy of Pepper.

"Who you?" Ollie asked with a cute tilt of his head.

"My name is Steve and this is Tony." Steve answered, plonking the boy into the bath tub. The boy narrowed his eyes as he wracked his brains.

"Captain.. A..Ame.. America and Iron Man!" He said quickly. "Mummy told me that." He nodded, proud of himself as the Steve and Tony washed him.

The two looked up at Pepper who was drying off Ella and raised their eyebrows at the 2 year olds extensive knowledge of them. As far as they were aware 2 year olds weren't supposed to recognise superheroes that had only been on the TV a couple of times and about a year ago now. Not unless it had been drilled into their heads that the information of who they were was somewhat important.

It turned out that cleaning Ollie was much easier than cleaning Ella. It seemed that his sister had done an amazing job in making sure that the little stayed healthy and clean and they were positive that she had put herself in front of him at any sign of danger. An excellent quality for a big sister to have Steve had remarked.

Once he was clean they lifted Ollie from the bathtub, wrapped in a large fluffy towel much like his sister was and handed him to Pepper. Ella was sat on the toilet with the lid down while they had waited for Ollie.

"I'm going to put on a fresh nappy for him and then get them into their pajamas. You boys are free now." Pepper said, laying Ollie down on his back and lifting his legs into the air. Tony and Steve nodded before draining the bath and leaving down the hall. Their mutterings were serious but inaudible.

Pepper slipped the nappy on and picked him back up. She handed Ella a pair of pajamas. They were purple with two ponies on the T-shirt. The little girl giggled happily.

"I love them!"

"Good, once I've dressed your brother we'll go and say goodnight to the avengers, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Y'know, Ella? You're a very brave girl." Pepper said quietly, the tone changing. "Most girls in your situation would have scared about meeting all these people without their parents."

"I have no reason to be scared, Pepper. Mummy told me that these people are good. They do good and so they'll be good to me because well... they're good!"

"Do all your friends at school have Mummy's that tell them that these people are good?" Pepper asked, slowly coaxing information out of the girl.

"No, they don't believe me. They say that these people went away when the battle was done. They think it was a one time thing and that I'm crazy." Ella shrugged.

"Oh right.." Pepper mused as she did up the poppers on Ollie's onesie. "Ready?"

"Uh-huh!" Ella skipped down the corridor towards the lift and waited for Pepper to carry Ollie in."

As soon as they reached the floor Ella asked to let Ollie walk in with her. Pepper agreed and placed Ollie onto his own wobbly feet. The little boy grabbed for Ella's hand and took it tightly. They walked into the living room and an eruption of coos occurred.

"I just wanted to say goodnight. And so did Ollie!" Ella said with a smile.

"Nighty..."

Ella smiled sheepishly and then left the room again, Pepper in tow. Once they were gone Tony sighed and spoke up.

"Things need to be discussed."


	3. Chapter 3

 

The group of 6 sat were dotted about the kitchen when Director Fury walked in. His good eye scanned the room quickly and surveyed that Tony and Bruce were sat next to each other at the breakfast bar, Steve had taken position leaned against the fridge with his arms folded. Clint was hard to spot at first but Fury soon saw him perched on the kitchen counter with Natasha leaning her elbows on it.

"The look on your faces tells me that you've called me here for what can only be a serious matter." Fury said as he looked over the frosty expressions that littered the room. Silence filled the room for a moment before Tony decided to speak.

"We have," Tony began as he inhaled deeply. "We have some visitors."

"So I was told on the phone. Two children?"

"A young girl called Ella and her little brother named, Ollie." Added Steve, unfolding his arms and using his right foot to lever himself away from the fridge and towards the middle table.

"And what exactly is so serious about two children being abandoned that it requires my assistance? I'm sad to say it's not an uncommon occurrence and it's not one that usually involves my presence." Said Fury. He rose an eyebrow towards Steve.

"They knew about us. Both of them did." Explained Natasha quickly.

"Once again, that's not uncommon. A fair amount of children saw you in the Battle of New York and they've remembered you." Argued Fury again, not seeing the point they were trying to make.

"Ollie is two years old at most. How on Earth could he know who we were? He must have been less than 1 year old during that battle." Tony pointed out.

"Maybe he his older sister told him about you when they played together? Why is that so strange?"

"No, he said his Mum taught him." Said Clint, shaking his head.

"What's strange about that then?"

"Ella knows more about us than any kid I've ever met. She could describe what each of us can do and probably would have gone further if we let her." Said Tony.

Director Fury sighed a little deeper as he suddenly understood the full weight of the problem. Children that appeared to have been trained to recognise them. He sank into one of the kitchen chairs and looked around at the group.

"What else do they know?" He asked wearily.

"They both know our real names. And Ella can do it without knowing our aliases as well." Said Bruce.

"They didn't recognise me when I found them. But the two were tired. Though she was very trusting when I told her my name so I think somewhere deep down she knew who I was and that she had been told I would be able to help her." Said Thor. Fury nodded along, his features contorting into a deep frown as he thought.

"And their Mother? What do we know about her? What do we know that she's said to them?" Fury questioned.

"She told them every time she walked past here that... that one day I and the rest of the Avengers might just save their life." Tony answered.

"And we appear to have done just that." Natasha continued.

"This woman, their Mother, whoever she is, she knows a lot. There are plenty of leads we could take. Is there a Father. Do we know their last name?" Asked Fury as took to his feet again. He now paced around the kitchen as he waited for the answers to his questions. However, they didn't come from the person he expected.

Pepper Potts walked through door.

"Their last name is Lance. I'm working on the Father business. I think it's a little bit of a touchy subject." She answered Fury and winked towards Tony who was stood dumbstruck at her sudden revelation.

"Well, aren't you clever." He remarked with a grin, beckoning her over and taking her hand.

"Well, I do try. By the way Ella asked me why you said that you only owned 88% of your house."

"And what did you say?"

"I said it should have been 85% but the argument fell through." Giggled Pepper as Tony snickered into the back of his hand. Fury turned to the pair and folded his arms. Letting out a small cough he attempted, and succeeded, at returning the attention to the matter at hand.

"Thank you very much, Miss Potts. Following this information we will launch an investigation into these children's parents. Their extensive knowledge is not like those of the children that we usually encounter." Finished Fury as he made his way to the door.

"Are the children staying?" Asked Thor quickly. Fury turned back towards the group with his hand on the door knob.

"For now."

A look of relief washed over the group. In the short time that they had known the two that had grown sort of attached to them. It was nice to know that they would be staying.

* * *

Morning rose in Stark Tower and Bruce rubbed his eyes. He had spent the night on the couch so that Ella and Ollie could have a bed. Tony had reassured him while they worked down in the basement that night that two empty rooms were going to be decorated and furnished appropriately for them within three days. It didn't bother Bruce that he had to sleep on sofa for now. He had had it much worse else where.

He sat up and inhaled deeply as he stretched his arms and back. Pushing off the covers he swung his feet onto the ground when I sudden startling noise broke out through the house. A high pitched wail rang through the corridors and into each room.

"Ollie has awoken from his slumber and appears to want your attention." Announced JARVIS as he acted like a baby monitor. Various grumbles sounded from around the house.

"What the hell?" Complained Natasha from somewhere on a high up floor.

"Somebody go see what he wants." Pleaded Tony from his own room. He covered his head with a pillow to block it out. It appeared that Thor and Clint hadn't even been wakened.

"I'll go." Shouted Steve, "Seeing as nobody else is going to volunteer!"

Bruce decided that he would also go up and see if he could help. He stood up and stumbled sleepily towards the elevator. As he reached the second floor the lift doors opened and Steve entered, scratching the back of his head with a yawn. He raised a hand in greeting to Bruce but spent the duration of the journey in a tired silence.

They walked into Bruce's bedroom to find Ella kneeling next to a wailing Ollie. She was gently shushing him as made an attempt to get a dirty nappy off of her brother. It appeared as though she had ransacked the carrier bags of supplies that had been left in their room for now.

"Do want some help with that, Ella?" Asked Steve as he crouched beside the bed.

"No, no! I got it! I've done it a lot!" She answered, her tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth in concentration. She pulled of the dirty nappy quickly substituting it for a clean one and doing it up. "See? I can do it."

Ella looked up at Steve and smiled proudly as Ollie stopped crying and giggled instead, kicking his legs about in the air as he laid on his back.

"But you don't have to do it anymore. We're here to take you of you both. That means you don't have to worry about changing Ollie's nappy all the time." Explained Steve gently as he watched Ella do up the onesie again.

"Oh..." Ella faltered.

"Ella, how old are you and Ollie?" Asked Steve.

"I'm 7 and he's almost 2."

"Aaaaaaall.... most!" Copied Ollie with a giggle. Bruce sat on the edge of the bed quietly.

"You're so young. Surely you should be playing with your friends and going to the park and learning all the things a 7 year old should be learning?" Said Bruce as he tilted his head at the girl. Ella simply shrugged and jumped off the bed to stand in front of the bed.

"I'm starving! Can I have breakfast?" She asked brightly. Bruce sighed a little before nodding.

"Come on, lets see what we can find." He said as he let her skip out of the door, leaving Ollie and Steve alone in the room.

Steve straightened up before sitting down on the covers and picking up Ollie under the armpits. He let the boy stand on his lap as he supported him carefully. He couldn't help smiling when he stared at this little boy. He seemed to be generally quiet when he was content and he didn't appear to say much. Steve bounced him up and down on his knees until his knees gave way. At which point he scooped up the boy and cradled him in his arms, rocking him back and forth.

"I suppose we should see if Pepper bought you some milk to drink? I'm sure she did. She's good at being organised." Steve said to Ollie as he cradled him easily in one arm. He stood up again and began to search through the bags. "Ah ha! Here we are." 

He walked out of the bedroom, armed with the baby boy and a carrier bag full of formula milk and bottles. Before long he had reached the kitchen where Ella was sat eating toast and marmalade with Bruce.

"Hold him while I get the bottle ready will you?" He asked, holding out Ollie towards him. Bruce looked a little nervous before holding Ollie tentatively in his arms.

"Right.. erm.. okay. Hi there.. Ollie."

Steve fiddled around the kitchen for a good 5 minutes, heating and sterilizing bottles and milk until he was sure it was safe and ready for the boy to drink. He took him back off the still nervous looking Bruce and held the bottle to Ollie's lips. 


	4. Chapter 4

For the first time in about week since Ella and Ollie had graced the group with their presence the tower was quiet. There was no Pingu or Bob the Builder being blared from the TV at loud volumes. The wheels on the bus was not on constant repeat and the was no crying or squealing coming from a child anywhere. However, they missed it.

Pepper, Steve and Thor had taken Ella and Ollie into town. The group had come to the conclusion that they needed to continue with their schooling. Steve was going to get up with Ella and take her to school for 10 to 9 in the morning. She would be in the second grade according to her age and a quick check from the school's administration service. Pepper would then Ollie to nursery for half eleven so that he could become accustomed to going when he was older. Then, at 3:30 in the afternoon Tony and Bruce would walk down the road to the public school together and split at the corner. Tony would go pick up Ollie from nursery and Bruce would get Ella from the primary school. They would meet back at the same corner and all walk back together.

That had been a little unsure whether to send them both out to school. Of course, Ella had to go by law (unless they were to home school her and that was something neither of the avengers felt up to doing). However, Ollie had the option to stay at the tower. Surely it was their Mother's choice whether Ollie was to go or not but considering there had been no update on the whereabouts of her or any mention from either child of a father they decided it was best if he went.

Tony walked about the house for a bit. It was a struggle to find people so he asked JARVIS to locate them.

"Clint is on the roof, Natasha is in the training room and Bruce is alone in the kitchen." Replied JARVIS uniformly. Tony thought about going to see Natasha but thought better of it. She preferred to be alone when training and he'd rather not be accidentally decapitated.

Instead he turned around in the hallway and walked into the lift. He traveled down from the third floor to the ground floor and the lift doors opened. Scratching the back of his head with a yawn Tony pushed open the door into the kitchen. Bruce was sat at the table in the middle of the room, his hands wrapped around a large cup of coffee and he took a few sips every few moments.

"Still awake, I see." Tony said with a smile as he poured himself a cup of coffee too.

"Coffee helps." Replied Bruce quietly as he took another sip.

The two had been up the entire night to finish their work on a new gun for Natasha. She was currently testing it in the training room and they planned on staying up tonight as well apply the modifications that she wanted added. It wasn't healthy but it wasn't unusual for the two either. They were simply going to sleep until they had to pick Ollie and Ella up tomorrow afternoon and then they would be completely regenerated.

"Are you up for doing the same tonight?" Asked Tony as a gentle reminder.

"Yeah." Said Bruce quietly. Tony frowned a little and took a seat next to his friend at the table.

"You okay? You're kinda quiet. Y'know, quieter than usual." Tony took a gulp of his coffee and shuddered as the hot liquid poured down his throat before placing it back on the table and turning his head in Bruce's direction.

"Yeah, just a little worried." Bruce replied, taking another sip and staring out ahead of him.

"About what?"

"Ella and Ollie." Tony frowned at his friend's answer as his eyes darted up and down him. Bruce sighed and opened his mouth the continue without any encouragement from Tony. "What if the other guy makes an appearance? I could hurt them Tony. I could kill them. And... and I wouldn't even be able to control it."

Tony sighed and the two sat in momentary silence. Bruce turned his head to meet Tony's eyes and Tony tried to smile comfortingly.

"You're tired. You always over think things while you're tired." He answered finally.

"But what if it does happen. What if they're in the room when it happens? Or if I'm by myself with them! I don't want to hurt them!"

"Bruce... calm down. You haven't had an incident for months. You'll be fine." Tony tried reassure him with a nod and a smile. Bruce nodded back.

"Okay." He sighed shakily and Tony downed the rest of his coffee. He got to his feet, placing the cup in the dishwasher quickly and went to the door.

"You should get some rest. You'll feel better." He added before leaving the room. He shut the door quietly behind him and leaned on it with a sigh. From inside the kitchen Bruce got to his feet and also placed his cup in the dishwasher. He leaned forward on the counter with his head hung low.

"I know you're still there." He called out. He lifted his head and smiled a little.

"No I'm not." Tony replied stupidly.

"Of course not."

"I'm not."

"Shut up, Tony."

"You shut up."

"Make me."

"Alright, maybe I will." Bruce was grinning now. He could always rely on Tony to cheer him up as a good friend should. Plus it was nice to finally have a good friend he could trust. He opened the door and Tony stumbled backwards into kitchen with a loud laugh. He bumped into Bruce who steadied himself with a nearby counter while pushing on Tony's back to get him back on his feet.

The two stood laughing for a little while.

"Come on, let's go see Tasha and see what she wants changing about the gun." Tony suggested. Bruce nodded and followed him out of the room. They headed towards the lift and down into the basement. Down the corridor and next to the workshop was two double and blacked out glass doors. Tony leaned on them heavily to open them and Bruce walked through too.

The sounds of gunshots filled the room suddenly and multiple targets had been set up at the far end of the room. The walls had been made soundproof and the only source of light was coming from the caged ceiling lamps above them.

"How's it going?!" Shouted Tony over the firing noises. Bruce stood silently peering to see how well the gun had hit the target.

"It's good!" She shouted back firing one last bullet before walking over to the two men; the gun in hand. "It doesn't matter what you do though, the bullets always drift left." Natasha gave the gun over to Tony who turned it over in his hands carefully and then handed it to Bruce who did the same thing. He passed it from his left hand to his right and then held it out in front of him at the target.

"It think it's weighted too much on the left." He thought out loud. "Tony?"

"You're probably right." He answered, taking the gun back from Bruce and holding it towards the target. He walked forward a few meters and away from the other two. Raising it level to the center he fired. As Natasha had said the bullet veered off to the left, hitting the second to outer ring. He fired once more.

Somebody screamed.

Tony's eyes widened and he dropped the gun immediately in shock. It fell to the floor dangerously he spun around. Bruce and Natasha had turned just as quickly and they were both faced with Ollie.

The door was open a crack and it appeared that the boy must have slipped through. He had fallen backwards onto his bottom and was staring with his eyes wide and his mouth open. Slowly his face screwed up and he screamed again. He matched the noise with tears then the scream mutated into a wail.

Tony, Natasha and Bruce stared for a few moments as they tried to figure out what to do in this situation. Tony finally moved from his spot and jogged over to the boy. He crouched down in front of him and took a crinkled piece of clean tissue out his pocket and tried to wipe Ollie's snotty nose and running tears.

"Hey, hey Ollie. What's wrong, little man?" He gently encouraged as he saw Natasha go and pick up the gun from where it lay on the ground. Bruce slowly edged his way over. However, Ollie didn't say anything he only screamed. Tears stained his face so Tony was left with no option but to pick him up. He bounced him on his hip and held him to his chest.

"We should take him upstairs, Tony." Suggested Bruce and Tony nodded in agreement.

"I'll come up in a few minutes. I'll leave the gun in your workshop." Natasha added quickly.

"Alright, come on Ollie." Tony carried him to the elevator as the boy still wailed in his arms. He wasn't letting up anytime soon and he was still going as they reached the first floor. They walked into the corridor and searched the seemingly empty halls for any sign of life.

"Ollie? Ollie where are you?" Called out Pepper as she walked out of the study and into the corridor. She took one look at the crying boy and grimaced. "Oh God, what happened?" She asked.

"I think he just got the hell scared out of him, Pepper. He walked in on us testing Natasha's new gun."

"Tony, are you trying to tell me that you just almost shot him?" Pepper cried out quite loudly and Thor poked his head out of the door.

"Who did Tony almost shoot?" He asked with a frown.

"Ollie!" Answered Pepper who was almost in hysterics by now. Tony's eyes widened and his hands flapped out in front of him quickly

"No! No I di-"

"You almost shot the young Midgardian?" Exclaimed Thor with drew Steve out from the kitchen.

"Did I just hear that Tony almost shot Ollie?" He asked in disbelief.

"No, I have no-"

"How could you almost shoot him?" Cut off Pepper which left Tony looking all but impressed as he sighed. Clint appeared from the elevator and blinked at the large gathering in the hall way.

"What's going on here?" He asked.

"Tony almost shot, Ollie." Answered Steve.

"What?!"

"HE DID NOT ALMOST SHOOT OLLIE." Bruce shouted out and the loud gabble of people trying to talk over each other quietened down in shock at his outburst; apart from Ollie who was still crying in Tony's arms. "Tony shot at a target, Ollie opened the door behind us and probably got scared by the loud noise. He fell over, possibly hit his head on the door but it's unlikely. He is scared and you all making that much noise probably isn't helping."

"Thank you." Said Tony quietly with a smile as he gently soothed Ollie. "But calm down, yeah?" He added with a chuckle. Bruce smiled. Tony hadn't meant it in the 'you're gonna turn into a big green monster' way but in the 'you've just freaked everyone out but it was completely hilarious to me" way The hallway stood in a silence and Clint grew bored of the situation.

He wandered past Steve in the kitchen's doorway and opened the fridge. He took out the last chocolate roll and began to open it.

"Hey, hey! I was gonna have that!" Frowned Steve as he turned back into the kitchen, the door shutting behind him.

"Yeah, well you walked away." Retorted Clint, his voice muffled by the walls.

Pepper looked down at her feet as Tony rocked Ollie in his arms.

"Sorry, Tony. I jumped to conclusions." She apolgised quietly.

"It's okay." Replied Tony in a hushed tone.

Thor disappeared back into the living room. As he opened the door the sound of Fifi and the Flowertots (Ella's favourite program of the week) momentarily flooded the hallway. Her voice sounded as he asked Thor questions as soon as he entered.

"We should probably put Ollie down for a nap. He'll be calmer when he wakes up." Bruce suggested and Pepper nodded. She held out her arms for the boy and Tony handed him over gently. Pepper disappeared with him into the elevator.

"That was eventful." Mused Bruce and Tony hummed in agreement.


	5. Chapter 5

"Shot Ollie. I did not shoot Ollie. I cannot believe they thought I'd shot him," Tony grumbled as he sat at his work bench. His hand was inside his suit's helmet as he fiddled with one of the hardware devices inside in the attempt make communications reach a higher distance.

He'd been down here for about 3 hours now since the whole fiasco in the training room. While the rest of the group had apologised to him and Pepper had had admitted she'd jumped to conclusions they'd still been frosty with him. It appeared that they were angry that he had been been using weapons with Ollie in the room. With no Bruce by his side to back him up and Natasha being the only other person to know the truth he was left unable to get his side across. Unfortunately for him Natasha had gone out that night.

"Why would I shoot him? Jesus Christ, it's mental some of the things they think. I'm not as irresponsible as everyone assumes. I didn't know he was there! There's no need for them to hate me for it!" He muttered to himself, turning a screw inside of the helmet so that sparks flew out at his face.

"We don't hate you..." Came a small voice. Tony frowned and took his hand out of the helmet. He spun his stool around and found Bruce and Ella stood hand in hand in the doorway. She smiled innocently, looking from Tony to Bruce to Tony again.

Tony took in her form. She was dressed in one of her new sets of pajamas. Tonight's were blue with a large pawprint on the chest. The trousers were of the same design but had many mini paws covering the blue material. She clutched a hair brush in her other hand.

"Thank you, sweetheart." He said as he smiled back, "I'm sorry about your brother."

"It's okay." She shook her head.

"He'll barely remember it tomorrow, Tony." Added Bruce. Tony nodded and Bruce walked over to the holographic screen behind Tony's workbench. He scooted around various pieces of technology that littered the ground after Tony's rage tinkering. It was something he did when he got annoyed. He would attempt to fix something or simply upgrade it but as he got angrier and angrier his judgement would get blurrier simultaneously until he was merely breaking the object in hand. He would then throw the object to the side and start on something else, all the while mumbling and ranting to himself.

Bruce raised an eyebrow at the mess but said nothing. He was accustomed to Tony's ways nowadays so it didn't really both him. Instead he simply drew up a stool and swiped a hand across the screen to wake the machine up. It scanned his face and immediately let him into his profile to continue reading what he had started a few hours before.

Ella was left standing in the middle of the room, staring at some of the things that Tony had thrown on to the ground and ones that had been left untouched on the shelves. She looked around and walked over to a particularly low shelf. She crouched down, placing her hair brush on the ground and tilted her head as she looked.

"What's this?" She asked, pointing at the object in question. Tony turned in his seat to see what she was looking at. He smiled.

"Can you read it, Ella?"

"Proof.. that Tony Stark.. has a heart." She recited and Tony grinned wider.

"Pepper gave me that." He remarked and she nodded.

"But what is it?" She asked, her face turning quizzical in the genius's direction. She picked up and held it out to him. Tony took it willingly.

"It's my old arc reactor. It's what used to keep all the shrapnel from getting to my heart. Pepper gave me it to me. Sentiment." He answered and Ella nodded along, seeming to understand completely. He handed it back to the little girl who put it back on the shelf carefully with a smile.

"Tony?" She started as she straightened up again, picking up her hair brush.

"Hmm?"

"Will you brush my hair?" She asked, holding out the hair brush to him. He smiled.

"Sure, darling." He agreed, holding his arms out to her as she walked over to him. He lifted her up on his lap and took the hair brush from her tiny hands. Releasing her long brown hair from it's pony tail prison he let it fall over the girl's shoulder. He then started to brush each strand gently.

They sat in silence for a few minutes as Tony brushed out each and every knot. Bruce looked up from his screen momentarily and smiled at the two of them.

"So, it's your first day back at school tomorrow." Tony mused.

"Uh-huh."

"Are you looking forward to it?" He asked.

"Nu-uh."

"Why not? You get to see all you're friends. You'll have a laugh and me and Bruce will be picking you up in the afternoon." Tony reasoned with her but she simply shook her head.

"People will ask questions.. about who you are and where Mummy is." She frowned and Tony finished brushing her hair. He placed the hairbrush on the wooden table beside them and turned her around on his lap. Ella looked up at him nervously, her eyes flicking between his.

"We're going to find your Mum soon enough and then you can go back to living normally, I promise. But until then I need you to cooperate with me, yeah? If people to ask too many questions then you get the office to ring here and one of us will pick you up. Okay?"

Ella nodded.

"Okay."

"Now, bed time." Tony insisted and lifted the girl on to his hip. He held her close and she draped an arm around his neck. She sucked thumb of her free hand contently and rested her head on Tony's shoulder. "You coming, Bruce?" He asked as he walked into the lift.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Bruce replied. He switched off the screen properly this time and pushed his glasses up his nose. Picking his way back over the objects on the floor he picked up Ella's hair brush on the way into the lift.

"Third floor, JARVIS." Tony instructed and the lift doors closed as they started going up. He gently bounced the little girl on his hip as she lay half asleep in his arms. "Has she brushed her teeth yet?" He asked Bruce quietly.

"Yeah," Bruce said with a nod. The lift came to a halt and the the trio emerged. It wasn't exactly hard to find Ella's room. It had a hand written notice on the front saying

_Keep out. Or else._

Tony chuckled and pushed the door open. Her room had been decorated and redesigned especially for her. Bruce entered the room first and put the hair brush down on her chest of drawers. He then walked over to the bed and peeled back the brown covers so that Tony could lay Ella straight in. The room itself was fairly bright in colour with light blue walls and a newly painted white ceiling. The carpet was the same shade of brown as the duvet cover with a fluffy blue rug in the middle of the room. To give the little girl more space to play Tony had requested the wardrobes and cupboard were built into the walls so they only furniture obstructing the floor space was the chest of drawers under the window.

"Night, Ella." Said Tony, pulling the covers over her body.

"Night, Tony." She replied.

"Night, Ella." Bruce added as he tucked her in with a smile.

"Night, Bruce."

* * *

Ella was running around the tower squealing. A grin plastered to her face as Ollie watched her from his high chair. While he was still sat in a red onesie lined with black around his sleeves Ella had her school uniform on. She wore a grey skirt with thick woolen school tights underneath. Her pristine polo shirt was hidden by the blue cardigan she was over the top that sported the school's logo. She had her hair plaited and out of her face while she wore black, velcro shoes on her feet.

Steve was sat watching her run, a cup of coffee in his hands and her school bag in front of him on the table. She'd picked out a purple rucksack with yellow stars on the front pocket.

"Calm down, Ella. You don't want to be tired by the time you get to school. That kind of defeats the purpose." He lectured as Ella picked up one of Ollie's toy airplanes and started making the appropriate noises as it "flew" through the air. Clint chuckled as he held a bottle up to Ollie's mouth. The little boy suckled happily and clapped his hands as he watched his sister play.

Every Avenger had woken up for the special occasion of seeing Ella go off on her first day of school.

"Why am I awake?" Natasha grumbled, walking around in an old T-shirt and a pair of shorts.

"Because it's their first day of school and you all want to see Ella off." Pepper replied. She folded her arms with an unimpressed look and walked out of the room to pack Ella's bag.

"Apparently it's a momentous occasion." Tony grumbled pouring a cup of coffee and going to sit next to Steve, "No idea why."

"Because every Midgardian deserves an education and Ella and Ollie will finally be getting it! What more joyous occasion could there be?" Thor boomed with a grin.

"I could think of some." Natasha replied sarcastically taking the coffee pot off Tony and pouring her own.

"A wedding... a birthday." Clint began to list.

"A funeral." Tony quipped.

"That's a bit morbid for half eight in the morning, Tony." Said Bruce.

"It was supposed to be a joke. I've obviously not had enough coffee yet this morning."

"Apparently not."

Pepper walked back into the room and rolled her eyes. She took an apple off the side and Ella's lunch box out of the fridge before placing it into the purple rucksack in her hand.

"You're all still half asleep." Pepper sighed as Steve stood up, lifting Ollie from the high chair and handing him to Clint who laid him in his arms gently.

"Need more coffee."

"Don't normally see this hour of the morning."

"I should still be in bed." Came the various replies from the group. Steve wiped down Ollie's high chair with a steriliser. The group leaned in and cooed over the young boy who laid gurgling in Clint's arms happily. He grabbed hold of the nearest finger (which happened to be Natasha's) and waved it around. The group laughed at the two.

Ella came running in to the room, a grin still plastered on her face and her rucksack now on her back.

"Bye, everybody!" She called, waving at them all.

"Hey, I want a hug before you go." Butted in Tony and she ran over to hug him quickly.

"Well so I do now." Thor added and Ella ran over to him too. One by one each Avenger put in their request for a hug until she had gone to each one of them. Pepper stood by the kitchen door and waited patiently, a smile now plastered onto her face as she watched them.

"Are you ready, honey?" She asked eventually and Ella nodded. She went back over to the woman and took hold of her hand. Pepper looked very smart for this time in the morning. She was going to walk her to school in high heels and black skirt and blouse. An odd combination Tony remarked but Pepper liked to look organised at least 100 percent of the time.

"I'll pick you up at 3:30." Reassured Bruce as he sipped his coffee. Ella nodded and headed out the door. The walk was barely 10 minutes long. They passed the park and the local bakery on the way. The smell was glorious. Freshly baked bread and iced cupcakes.

They had to cross two main roads on the way and each time Pepper would hold Ella's hand extra tight. There was no chance that the little girl was going to get hurt under her watch.

Finally they reached the school gates and Ella slowed her pace a little.

"Are you nervous?" Pepper asked, crouching down to the girl's height.

"A little. I don't want them to ask questions." Ella replied.

"You'll do fine." Pepper answered, straightening out Ella's cardigan. Two small girls ran over. They dawdled by Ella's side a little before grinning and consuming themselves in a group hug. Pepper stood up.

"Ella!" One cried out and the hug continued.

"Hi, Dani!" Ella giggled back, "Hi, Neve!" She exclaimed to the other as well.

"Hi, Ella. You wanna go play on the swings til morning bell?" The second girl named Never asked.

"Yu-huh. Bye Pepper!" Ella called over her shoulder as the three ran off in the direction of the playground. Pepper smiled watching the group. Ella had nothing to worry about. She would be just fine.


	6. Chapter 6

If the air had been cold on the way to school that morning it was nothing compared to the trip that afternoon. Tony and Bruce were walking towards the corner where they would go their separate ways, their breath visible in the air as they made small talk. Bruce was swaddled in a large coat, a long scarf and thick gloves while Tony only had a fleeced jacket and thinner gloves. He was beginning to feel the chill in his bones immensely.

"Hey, would you mind if I got Ella just this once?" Tony asked after the chit chat had come to an end. He was pushing the pram that Pepper had bought in order to pick Ollie up. It was filled with blankets and an extra thick coat to put him in. The last thing they wanted was for Ollie to get sick the first time he had been out of the house. They had been reassured that Ella had an extra coat in her rucksack by Pepper.

"Sure," Bruce agreed almost instantly. "May I ask why?"

"I just want to make sure that she's okay. I know she was worried. I might have a chat with her teacher too." Tony reasoned as they reached the corner. Bruce nodded quickly and held out his hands for Tony to pass him the pram instead. They made the swap and quickly split, Tony heading to the elementary school and Bruce to the nursery, pram in hand.

Tony rubbed his hands together and shivered. He passed the park and glanced over wondering if children still played there in this cold weather. They did. Apparently a little bit chill would not put them off. Parents were running around after their kids begging them to put on their winter coats, gloves, scarfs, hats and, in one girls case, a pair of earmuffs. However their cheeks were tinged with pink and they were in no mood to put extra layers on over their thick school jumpers and cardigans. He narrowed his eyes, trying to look at the uniform. It was red and therefore definitely not Ella's school. He sighed in relief, at least he wasn't late.

Eventually the park disappeared out of view and a length of railings replaced it. Through the bars he could see the school field, the football pitches painted onto the grass in white. To the side of that their was a netball court that was painted onto the hard cement. It looked rather large and sported two floors so he assumed this to be high school.

Across the road was a school in similar stature but considerably smaller in size. There were parents standing around outside brightly painted doors and talking to each other. They attempted to keep themselves warm by huddling into small group as they waited for there children. Tony crossed the road and checked the sign.

_Park Road Elementary_

"That's original." Tony muttered as he went through the gates. He felt a little out of place in the school yard, surrounded by parents that obviously become friends through their children.

"Would be okay if Nick was to come to tea on Thursday night? Harry's been asking me for days."

"How about coffee after we drop the kids off at school tomorrow? Tuesday's your day of right?"

"Is it football practice tomorrow? I've completely forgot."

Tony overheard many conversations as he excused himself through the mass of people to get anywhere near the right door. Now he came to think about it, which was the right door? The outside of this school looked like a rainbow with a different colour for each classroom. His eyes flitted about between them until he realised that he really didn't know. Should he ask? Or should he just dither around in the general area.

It made sense that the classrooms would be in order of grade. The first grade classroom would be at one end and then the second grade would be next to it and so and so on. That then called for another question of which end did this start? The problems were endless. Eventually he decided he would have to ask somebody.

"Excuse me?" He began, tapping a nice looking woman on the shoulder to get her attention.

"Yes?" She replied, a tired smile on face.

"Which door is for the second grade classroom?" He asked, gesturing to the rainbow effect on the wall.

"The green one." The woman answered and began to turn away. Before she turned all the way back around she narrowed her eyes and paused. "Hey, aren't you Tony Stark?"

Tony nodded.

"Yes." He stated and hurried off in the direction of the green door. Normally he had no problem talking to the public but he didn't feel that Ella needed to walk out of her first day back at school into a mass of people surrounding the guy who was supposed to be picking her up. Not when she had been so worried about the amount of questions people would have for her in the first place. No that would not do.

He came to a halt in the close vicinity of the door and set about waiting. Not that it was a very long period of time to do so. The bell rang suddenly and the doors flung open at short intervals. Elementary teachers stood on the outside of their doors, watching the children and making sure they went to the right adult. The children themselves squealed a happy goodbye in the direction of their teachers and waved behind them as they ran over to their parents.

Ella was one of the last to emerge. When he spotted her coming out of the door she was frowning. Tony panicked for a second and thought about all the things that could happened to make her upset on the first day back. He was about to go over to her when the teacher approached her instead. The woman crouched down in front of her, her blonde hair falling into her face as she tried to look at the child.

"I'm sure we'll find it somewhere." Tony caught as he edged his way forward and Ella nodded. "I'll look for it when I'm cleaning up, yeah?" The woman encouraged. Ella nodded again

"Okay." She said, brightening up a little and gripping onto her rucksack. Tony sauntered over properly now, a smile plastered to his face.

"How're you doing, kiddo?" He asked as he approached. The young teacher looked up quickly and hastily got to her feet; her hand out to shake Tony's.

"Tony!" Ella grinned, her face lighting up considerably more.

"Ah, Mr Stark I presume?" She said with a smile as he reached out his own hand to hers. "I'm Miss Lark" She introduced herself.

"Miss? Unmarried." Tony quipped with a cheeky smile that Ella couldn't understand.

"Indeed." Miss Lark smiled back as her eyes met Tony's. He held her gaze until she shook herself free. "Ah, Ella has a little problem. She's lost her coat."

Ella nodded meekly as Tony absently reached down and took the purple ruck sack from her small hands.

"I'm sure it'll turn up soon." Reassured Tony, ruffling her hair with his free hand and getting another smile out of the girl. "Where'd you last have it?"

"Erm, I had it for break but I couldn't find it for lunch." She frowned in thought. Tony nodded.

"Well lets get going then."

Tony shifted the rucksack into his other hand and took Ella's closest one. The little girl waved to her teacher who waved back, shutting the door behind her as she went back inside. They trudged up the now almost empty playground hand in hand, weaving through those small amount of people that remained.

"Apart from the coat from thing did you have a good day?"

"Yeah, Dani and Neve and me played on see saw at lunch. We put three people on it and Dani fell in a puddle." She giggled into her hand. "And she splashed me so I got all wet! Miss Lark had to put my cardigan on the heater to dry."

Tony listened to Ella talking excitedly about her play times as they crossed the road and walked past the high school. On the way past the park Ella barely batted an eyelid when a rogue cyclist swerved around the two of them. She was talking about how she had won the running race at school and gotten a gold star sticker. She then presented it to Tony proudly as they reached the corner. He cooed in appreciation and Ella smiled back at the praise.

A few minutes later Bruce appeared around the corner. In the pram was Ollie, covered in blankets, a winter onesie, a coat and his new favourite toy. A green dummy was hanging from his mouth and he sucked on it contently. Upon seeing him Ella wriggled her hand from Tony's and ran over to her brother. She began to play with him, pretending to have grabbed his nose and waving it in the air. Ollie squealed.

"Give back! Give back!" He cried, his little arms flailing in the air. Bruce smiled at Tony and then looked Ella. He frowned quickly.

"Where's her coat? It's freezing." He asked, noticing the difference between the amount of layers Ella was wearing compared to her brother.

"She lost it." Tony sighed with a shake of her head, "I don't think she's worn it since about 10:30 this morning."

"Oh," Bruce replied simply, biting his lip.

"Hey, Ella take my hand again we're going to get home before you freeze to death without a coat." Tony insisted, holding his hand out to her. She pouted grumpily as he halted her play time but walked over anyway.

The four of them made it home in about 10 minutes after that and Ella's hand was noticeably cold in Tony's warm palm. They approached the gates and JARVIS recognised them instantly, opening up for them. Tony pushed open the front door and Ella dashed inside. He continued to hold it open so that Bruce could get through with the push chair before walking inside himself and shutting the door behind him.

"Tony, Bruce, Ella and Ollie are home." JARVIS announced to the inhabitants of the tower as Ella dashed off into the living room. Tony heard a squeal of '"Thor!" before the door closed behind her, cutting out the sound.

Bruce was leaning over the pram and unstrapping Ollie from it's clutches. He lifted the little boy out and balanced him on his hip. Tony took the cue to collapse to the chair and lean it against the wall. He then hooked Ella's rucksack on to one of the lowest peg on the wall he could as he watched Bruce walk into the living room too.

Tony didn't follow. Instead he went into the kitchen and placed a sterilised bottle of formula on to heat up. While it completed that process he filled a glass with apple juice for Ella. He then picked up the two bottles and brought them in to the lounge.

"Here, Ella." He called. She looked up from Thor's lap and held out her hands for the glass.

"Thank you, Tony." She said politely, staying on Thor's knees as she gulped it down. Tony then scouted around for Ollie. He found him balanced on Natasha's knees. She was grinning at the young boy, her hands over her eyes.

"Peek-a-boo!" She cried out, taking her hands away and feigning a shocked expression to the boys amusement. Ollie squealed and clapped his hands happily and she took hold of his tiny fingers, bouncing him up and down on her knees jerkily.

"Here's his bottle." Tony interrupted and held it out. She nodded and took it off him, re-positioning Ollie in her arms and placing the bottle to his mouth. He closed his eyes and suckled happily. Natasha smiled down at the content boy as he drank.

He took a seat next to Bruce on the sofa, curling his legs up with a sigh. Bruce smiled back, his attention fixed on the children's program that was playing on the flat screen TV. When he realised he blinked and turned his gaze away.

Pepper walked in to the room. She looked at Ella and frowned.

"Where's her coat? I didn't see it on the peg with her bag?"

"She lost it at school between break and lunch." Tony answered for the second time now. He hoped no one else would ask the same question.

"Hmm." Pepper frowned and walked out again. Tony rolled his eyes in exasperation. Why did she always look stressed? As though something bad was going to happen?

* * *

Ella reached onto her tiptoes and pressed the first floor button on the elevator. She clung onto the bar that went around the walls of the lift as it jolted downwards but a sudden sneeze threw her off balance and to the other side of the enclosed box. 

The doors finally opened and she stumbled out, sniffing continuously. A blue fleece fabric trailed behind her, one corner gripped tightly in her fist. 

"Bruuuuce," She whined loudly, "Tooony? Natashaaa? Thooor?"

Suddenly JARVIS sprung to life, making the little girl jump a little.

"Bruce is in the study. Tony is in the bath and Natasha and Thor are both in bed." He supplied the answers with as gentle tone as a robotic voice could muster.

"Thank you," She sniffled. The study was closer than the bathroom which was back into the lift and up another floor. She shuffled off into the direction she thought the room was in and quietly knocked at the door she presumed was the right one. A cough rattled through her chest as she did so.

"Yes?" Came Bruce's voice through the door.

"Bruce?" Ella asked timidly as she entered the extravagant room. It was filled with grand bookshelves, some of which looked antique. It was one of the only non-modern rooms in the tower. Although it featured a holographic screen by the wall of windows like the one in the workshop the rest was beautifully carved wooden shelves and desks.

"Ella, it's 11:30 at night. You should be in bed. What's wrong?"

"My chest hurts." She moaned. Bruce's eyes flicked upwards and away from the book he had been using to research the use of electromagnetic force fields and whether a strong enough one could deflect certain weapons. He looked her over with concern and then stood up.

"Anything else?" He asked, encouraging all of her symptoms out of her.

"I keep coughing.. and my throat hurts.. so does my head." She elaborated with a frown. Bruce's eyes softened slightly and walked over to her, scooping her up into his arms and holding her close.

"Come on, I'll take you back to bed." He soothed, "See if we can find you some Calpol, hmm?" 

Ella nodded and coughed over his shoulder.

"Will you... will you stay?" She asked quietly.

"Of course. JARVIS, once Tony is done in the bath inform him that Ella is unwell and leave the others messages for when they wake please." He instructed the AI.

"Yes, Dr Banner." He obeyed and Bruce walked out of the study, his book left open behind him. He carried the girl all the way back to her corridor and into a separate bathroom. He closed the toilet lid and sat her on top of it as he searched through a medicine cabinet.

"There has to be some Calpol in here somewhere." He mused as he browsed the cupboard. He bit his lip as he searched and finally pulled out a bottle, "Here we are."

Bruce unscrewed the cap and took out the tiny spoon that lay in the box.

"Open wide." He said, pouring the the medicine onto the spoon. Ella did as she was told, cringing as she swallowed the liquid and stuck her tongue out to show her disgust.

"Eww." She complained, her eyes scrunched up.

"I know," Sympathised Bruce. "But it'll make you feel better for a bit."

He picked her back up and exited the bathroom, crossing the corridor and going into her room. Her bed was a mess where she had obviously been tossing and turning in an attempt to get to sleep. He set her down on her feet and sorted out the screwed up sheets into a semi-respectable looking bed before allowing Ella to get back in. She clambered up and reached for her teddy before Bruce pulled the duvet back over her.

"You said you'd stay." She reminded him gently, scooting over to the side of the bed to allow room for Bruce to lay beside her. He nodded.

"I did." He replied, sitting himself in the gap. She laid her head down on his lap instead of her pillow and coughed loudly. Bruce rubbed her back gently to help her and eyes closed. She didn't sleep though. He could tell because she kept shuffling and rubbing her nose.

About 20 minutes later she began to settle and stop moving quite so much. Her breathing was heavy as she had to do it out of her mouth and her mouth only. The door opened a little and Tony stuck his head round.

"Should I be jealous?" He whispered, smiling at the sleeping girl on his lap.

"Why ever would you be jealous?" He asked, his smile equally large.

"None of us ever get this much attention when we're sick." He reasoned and Bruce gave a low chuckle so he didn't disturb Ella. Tony slipped through the door and closed it behind him. He turned off the large light and fumbled his way through the dark before finding Bruce's side of the bed. He sat up against the bed frame and rested his head on the mattress.

"Night, Bruce." Tony said in a hushed voice. Bruce wondered what he was doing for a moment but he was grateful for Tony staying. 

"Night, Tony." Bruce replied. Little did Bruce know that Tony remembered their previous conversation in the kitchen about how worried he was when it came to being alone with children.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright then, so that was the first chapter of hopefully many if you enjoyed it. Do favourite it and leave reviews so I know if people want me to continue with this. I enjoyed writing it so that has to be a good sign, right?


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